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A review by tangiblereads
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Black Water Sister made me appreciate my grandmother because they all pass on. That said, this ghost grandmother was a riot and my favorite thing about the book was the banter between Jess and Ah Ma. Her motivation was wild too. While the plot in this book was good, and a bit complicated, I think the synopsis on the back of the book is a tag misleading about the serious themes. You have domestic violence, spirituality, religion, family expectations and drama, queerness, and sexual assault. Also there is a lot of incorporation of Chinese and other languages words that I couldn't always figure from the context. It slowed down my reading, but I appreciated the incorporation. Also the broken English as well. Very authentic for what is was. This book is a rich incorporation of Chinese and Malaysia culture and I appreciated that. The ending seemed rushed, like a big buildup of action, then a summarization. I didn't like that. Overall, I did enjoy this book, just not as much as I expected to.